Feeding The Flames
by StealthyCat131
Summary: When the Order needs a new hide out, they go to a abandoned mansion. Something doesn't quite feel right. Hermione will be visited by a ghost from her past... no matter how much she hates him.


_A/N - _I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, Snape would be dead already.

**Feeding The Flames**

**Chapter 1**

A lone mansion stood upon a hill in the distance. The small group of witches and wizards made their way towards it, cautiously. The leader of the group was an old man in maroon robes with a long beard. Following him was a balding man with red hair and three teenagers. Two wizards and a witch of curly brown locks and flowing black robes. A pair of silver eyes peered through one of the windows of the mansion.

_Soon… Very soon…_

"Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore. But may I ask, why exactly are we making the Malfoy Mansion the new base for the Order?" The brunette witch asked, a bit annoyed at the thought.

"Well, Miss Granger. We must set up the base where Voldemort will least expect it," The old man, Dumbledore, said. "Besides, we might find some very important information here."

"Do you think this is a good idea, Professor? I mean, this is the _Malfoy Mansion_ we're talking about. Won't there be a whole lot of spells and enchantments that'll be protecting this place?" A jet black-haired boy said to the old man.

"Do not worry, Harry. Some of the curses may still be intact but when your path is blocked, it only pushes you in another direction," The wise Headmaster said as he trudged his way up the hill.

"What the hell does that mean?" The teen with red hair exclaimed.

"Language, Ronald," The witch snapped as she followed Dumbledore's lead. Ron snorted and whispered something to Harry causing him to try to contain his laughter.

"What are you laughing about!" Griped the witch.

"Oh! Nothing Hermione." Harry managed out between chuckles.

"Ah! Boys!" Hermione growled to herself as she hurried to catch up to Dumbledore and Mr. Weasly, Ron's dad.

When they reached the door to the mansion, they realized just how large the building was as it loomed over them as if it would bend over and would squash them flat. Hermione looked up at the beauty of the stone and the elegance of the windows. Something caught her eye in one of the second story windows. It looked like a man was standing there but as soon as it appeared, it was gone. There was something about the window that made her narrow her eyes to see it better. The edges of the window were black for some weird reason but she just dismissed it as a trick of the light. Hermione shook her head and continued up the stone steps to stand in front of the door.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Hermione."

"Does anyone still live here? I thought I saw a man in one of the windows."

"It must have been your imagination, Hermione," Cut in Mr. Weasly, "Nobody wants to come anywhere near this place. Not even the muggles. They believe it to be haunted with the souls who died here."

"I'd believe that," Ron remarked as he looked at the doorknockers with caution. The doorknockers were snake heads with heavy rings on their bottom fangs. Hermione tutted at them, "Completely typical of a Malfoy."

Dumbledore opened the door with a loud creak. The group stepped inside and looked at the interior of the house. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. But you could tell that if everything were clean, the place would really shine.

"What ever happened to the Malfoy's, Professor?"

"Ah, Miss Granger. That is something that would be better to show you before I tell." Dumbledore led the group up a grand staircase and into a long hallway. They made their way down the hallway until they came to a door with scorch marks all over it.

"This would be Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy's bedroom." The Headmaster opened the door. The teenagers gasped at what lay inside. The whole room was scorched in black. What could have been a bed was pieces of cloth and burnt wood lying on the floor. The whole room was in tatters; it would be hard to recognize anything in the room. Dumbledore shut the door and continued down the hallway.

They came upon another door that looked in the same fashion as the other. Again, he opened the door, showing them a room that was just as burnt as the other. "This, if I'm not mistaken, would be Draco Malfoy's room. It seems that the Malfoy's had quite the enemies. Apparently, someone had torched their rooms and only their rooms while they were sleeping. The Malfoy's…sadly…were burned alive."

A chill went through Hermione as she stepped into the room. Dumbledore started to head farther down the hallway to show the group around. "You coming, 'Mione?"

Hermione turned and smiled at Ron. "Yeah… I'll catch up. You go on ahead." Ron fidgeted in his place and glanced around the room. "Okay. Just be careful." Ron left to catch up with the others, leaving Hermione in the cold room of the deceased younger Malfoy.

Hermione walked around the room and examined the damage that had been done. A glint of silver caught her eye as she made her way over to one of the many piles of ashes. She bent down and saw something sparkling within the ash. She moved some of it around and picked up a small object covered in the gray dust. After wiping it off, a ring was left lying in her hand. She recognized the ring immediately as the one that Draco gloated about all the time during 6th year. The ring had a green stone in the middle and a diamond on either side of it. On the inside of the ring was the inscription 'DM' in cursive writing.

There was something about the ring that intrigued her, something special about it. Pocketing the silver band, she continued to inspect the room. Hermione made her way over to the window and looked out. She suddenly realized that whoever or whatever she had seen in the window outside had to have been standing in this room and looking out this window. Hermione placed her hand upon what was left of the windowsill and ran her hand across it. The surface was ruff against her skin but something smooth caught her attention. There was a thin piece of metal that ran from the windowsill down to the floor.

Hermione noticed that the line of metal made a large square to the right of the window. She ran her fingers along the lines and felt a bump. It was a handle of some kind that would probably have been camouflaged by the wallpaper. She tried to pull on it but it wouldn't budge. She banged her fist against the handle and there was a 'thump' noise. Hermione tried to pull on it again and it came free, revealing a secret compartment.

Hermione reached in and pulled out what seemed to be a small rectangular box made of some kind of metal. Hermione opened the box and uncovered a book that was wrapped in some tattered green cloth. There were some other trinkets and objects in the box as well but she was more preoccupied with the book.

The book looked old and the cover was made of black leather. A gold snake was stamped on the front and was coiled around a large emerald. It was strange though because the emerald had a small hole in the middle of it. Hermione tried to open it but the cover wouldn't budge. Sighing, Hermione used her wand to minimize the book and place it in her pocket along with the box full of other things that she would look at later.

"So Hermione… Did you find anything interesting while you were snooping around in Draco's room?" Mr. Weasly asked at the dinner table. After touring the Malfoy Mansion, the group headed back to the Burrow for dinner. Dumbledore had to leave on an errand and said he couldn't stay.

Hermione began to choke on her pumpkin juice at Mr. Weasly's question. Harry had to slap her back to get her breathing again.

"Wh-what?"

"Dumbledore told me. So… did you find anything? I'm sure the younger Malfoy must have had something fire resistant?" Hermione hurried and finished her mashed potatoes and drank the rest of her juice. "Nope." That's all Hermione said before running up the stairs and into her and Ginny's bedroom. Ginny was staying at a friend's house for a while so Hermione had the bedroom all to herself.

Hermione took the items out of her pocket and restored them to their original size. She laid the items out on her bed and stared at them in concentration. There was the ring, the book, and the box. 'There has to be some way to open that blasted book!' Hermione decided on looking at the things that were the box.

Hermione opened the lid and pulled out a pile of pictures that were held together with a ribbon. The top picture had Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy and Draco standing together in their Slytherin pride. The next picture, however, was a picture of Draco when he was about three years old. He was outside and holding a ball about 2 sizes larger than his own head. But what really caught her attention was that he was smiling. Not the kind of sneer he usually had but a truly happy, toothy smile.

The next few pictures were similar. They were all of his childhood before his father began to rub off on him. There was also some cat-eye marbles, different coins from different countries, trading cards of the world's greatest Quidditch players in the world, and a small dragon figurine of the Chinese Fireball. All of these things reminded Hermione that even though Draco had seemed heartless at times, he was human and he did have a heart.

Hermione closed the box and put it aside. She picked up the ring and examined it once again. There was something that continued to bother her about the three stones. Hermione placed her thumbs upon either diamond the pushed down. She jumped when the emerald suddenly popped out on a strip of silver. It took her a moment to realize that the ring was actually a key. Hermione immediately picked up the book and tried to insert the key into the hole that was in the middle of the book. 'It fits!' She turned the key and heard a click before she opened the cover of the book.

The first page read the words: _The Journal of Draco Malfoy._ Hermione smiled widely. 'Jackpot!' She hesitated before turning the next page. 'This **is** a journal made up of personal and private thoughts… I can't read it… Even if it is Malfoy's.'

_Read it…_

'Huh? What was that?'

_Read it…_

'There's a voice in my head! I'm going crazy!'

_Shut up and read it mudblood!_

'Mudblood… Malfoy? Is that you?'

_Read the last entry…_

'What are you saying?' The voice didn't return, leaving Hermione a bit shaky. "Okay. I'm confused. Did Draco Malfoy just talk to me in my thoughts?"

"Hermione? Are you okay?" Harry's voice called from outside the door.

"Oh! Yeah, Harry! I'm… I'm just fine! C-couldn't be better!" Hermione answered back flustered.

"Well… alright. You just left the table in such a hurry…"

"Really, Harry. I'm okay."

Hermione listened until Harry's footsteps died away and then she turned the pages to the last entry. There were spots of ink and little burn marks on it. 'He must have written this while his room was on fire.'

_21st July_

_If anyone finds this journal… Everyone needs to know the truth. My father never stopped working for Voldemort and has tried to force me to become a Death Eater. I don't want to become one of those obedient dogs! I feel ashamed to bare the Malfoy name. I want to say that I'm sorry to all those that I have hurt and ridiculed in the past. I only did what I did because I was scared of my father. My stupid lowlife father! I'm not afraid anymore. I'm not afraid to die anymore either. I would rather die than serve that demon! Apologizing isn't something I do everyday but I need to say this before I die. I want to say that I'm sorry to everyone at Hogwarts. Most of all I want to say I'm sorry to my most hated enemies: Harry Potter, Ron Weasly, and Hermione Granger. I have not hated you as much as I let on in the past. I simply envy you. I envy you for the fact that you three can be there for each other and that you care about each other the way you do. I have never experienced that before… being in Slytherin of course. I am very sorry Hermione Granger for calling you a mudblood all the time. I should have never have called you all those names but I doubt that you would forgive me. Ron Weasly, I am sorry for making fun of you because of how less of money you and your family have. That is why there is a volt at Diagon Ally with your name on it. In it contains all the money that your family will ever need in years to come. Just ask one of the goblins there about it. Harry Potter… I have always hated you because of your bravery, something I have never had. I want to say thank you for showing me how to stand up to my fears. My only and last request is that the one who has murdered me be found and be sent to Azkaban where he belongs. My soul will never rest in peace until he is put behind bars._

_D Malfoy_

Hermione clutched the journal to her chest as tears made their way down her cheeks. 'Oh Malfoy…' Hermione wiped her tears away with her sleeve and set the book down. She made her way out the door and to Harry and Ron's room. Hermione brought the boys back to her room and explained everything to them and let them read Draco's last journal entry.

"Merlin! Who would have thought?" Ron whispered as he sat the book down. "The old ferret actually had a heart. And a whole vault of money too." Hermione was silent. Harry was looking at the photos in the box.

"We have to find out who did this to him," Hermione said sternly, her arms crossed and her head bowed.

"Are you bloody crazy 'Mione! This guy could kill you! I mean, look at what he did to Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed.

"It must have been horrible…" Harry mumbled to himself as he examined a picture of Draco's mother pushing him on a swing.

"What was that, Harry?"

"It must have been horrible to have been burned alive," Harry whispered and set the picture down. Ron went silent. "I mean, think about it. Imagine how slow that must have been, how painful. Not even Malfoy deserved that…" Tears began to form in Hermione's eyes.

"We must find that murderer and stop him, Ron. We have to save Draco's soul. Even if he was a pain to us before… He needs us now more than ever and I'm gonna help him." Hermione said determinedly. She got up from the bed and walked over to her closet, pulling on her coat and hat.

"W-where are you going?" Ron stuttered at the flame of her eyes.

"I'm going to the Malfoy Mansion. There's something I have to see…"

"Well… We'll come with you-"

"No. This is something I want to do on my own, if that's all right." There was a long silence before the two boys agreed and went back to their rooms. Hermione sighed as she snuck downstairs and out the front door.

A/N - I will try and post the next chapter up soon so please be patient! Please R/R!


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